Tag Archives: Stay

You were a wildly successful closeted actor during a period of time when coming out was unheard of, but the climate of acceptance has significantly changed in recent years. How do you feel about gay actors who still remain closeted as we near 2011?

“It’s complicated. There’s still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It’s regrettable, it’s stupid, it’s heartless, and it’s immoral, but there it is. For an actor to be working is a kind of miracle, because most actors aren’t, so it’s just silly for a working actor to say, “Oh, I don’t care if anybody knows I’m gay” — especially if you’re a leading man. Personally, I wouldn’t advise a gay leading man–type actor to come out.”

Larry King interviewed George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara for an interview to be aired on CNN this coming Monday but the cable news network has released a clip with some highlights including one where King asks Mrs. Bush on her thoughts on Sarah Palin.

The former first lady takes a swipe at the quitting Governor: "I sat next to her once. I thought she was beautiful and I think she's very happy in Alaska and I hope she'll stay there."

(2) The folks who brought the suit, the Log Cabin Republicans, issue a reaction that’s one part focused on the shared cause, one part focused on partisan politics — but all-around unhappy with the decision:

“It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court to halt this failed policy,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. “At the same time, President Obama remains far from the front lines of the fight for legislative repeal while commanding his lawyers to zealously defend ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in court. This week Log Cabin Republicans have conducted meetings with numerous Republican senators potentially in favor of repeal, all of whom are waiting for the President’s call. The White House has been missing in action on Capitol Hill, undermining efforts to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in the final session of this Congress, potentially leaving the judiciary as the only solution for our brave men and women in uniform.”

“We have reviewed the government’s opposition to Log Cabin’s application to vacate the stay of Judge Phillips’s injunction by the Ninth Circuit,” said Dan Woods, White and Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. “In our view, the government’s lengthy, detailed, 29-page brief does not address the two key arguments we presented to the Supreme Court. First, we argued that the premise of the government’s position–that it needs time to conduct an orderly process of repealing DADT–is entirely speculative because Congress has not and very well may never repeal DADT; the government’s filing today does not address that issue. Second, we argued that the Ninth Circuit order did not take into account the harm to servicemembers and potential enlistees resulting from the stay; the government’s filing today does not respond to that point either. At this point, all we can do is look forward to a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court.”

The Acting Solicitor General, Neal Kumar Katyal, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the Log Cabin Republican’s motion to vacate the stay of the DADT injunction:

Government lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to deny a request by the Log Cabin Republicans that the court lift a stay of the worldwide injunction a federal judge placed on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in September after she rule the law unconstitutional.

The motion includes with a Declaration from Clifford Stanley, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness who tells the Court:

I submit this declaration to make the following point: the Government intends to appeal the Court’s decision. During the pendency of that appeal, the military should not be required to suddenly and immediately restructure a major personnel policy that has been in place for years, particularly during a time when the Nation is involved in combat operations overseas. The magnitude of repealing the DADT law and policy is demonstrated by the Department’s ongoing efforts to study the implications of repealing DADT, which I outline in detail below.

According to Stanley, the injunction would adversely impact “military readiness”:

As demonstrated below, in the event DADT is no longer in effect, an injunction with immediate and worldwide effect will have adverse effects on both military readiness and the Department’s ability to effect a smooth and lasting transition to a policy that accommodates the presence of openly gay and lesbian servicemembers. The stakes here are so high, and the potential harm so great, that caution is in order.

There’s has been an abundance of caution. Too much caution. DADT should be long gone by now.

Could this be a bigger mess for the Obama administration? They’ve so lost control of this process – and I don’t really think there is a strategy to fix it. That’s why this Log Cabin lawsuit keeps causing more and more problems for the administration.

“It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court to halt this failed policy. At the same time, President Obama remains far from the front lines of the fight for legislative repeal while commanding his lawyers to zealously defend ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in court. This week Log Cabin Republicans have conducted meetings with numerous Republican senators potentially in favor of repeal, all of whom are waiting for the President’s call. The White House has been missing in action on Capitol Hill, undermining efforts to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in the final session of this Congress, potentially leaving the judiciary as the only solution for our brave men and women in uniform.”

The White House was also missing in action in September, when the Defense bill hit the Senate floor.

And, here’s the statement from Dan Woods, the lead attorney from White & Case:

“We have reviewed the government’s opposition to Log Cabin’s application to vacate the stay of Judge Phillips’s injunction by the Ninth Circuit. In our view, the government’s lengthy, detailed, 29-page brief does not address the two key arguments we presented to the Supreme Court. First, we argued that the premise of the government’s position–that it needs time to conduct an orderly process of repealing DADT–is entirely speculative because Congress has not and very well may never repeal DADT; the government’s filing today does not address that issue. Second, we argued that the Ninth Circuit order did not take into account the harm to servicemembers and potential enlistees resulting from the stay; the government’s filing today does not respond to that point either. At this point, all we can do is to look forward to a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court.”

"In a filing at the U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon, the U.S. government, represented by acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, asked the court to leave in place the stay of U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips's injunction of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The government's argument would keep DADT in effect while the Log Cabin Republicans v. United States case is on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit."

The response was requested from Justice Kennedy when the LCR application was filed.

Wrote Dan Woods, lead attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, in a statement:

"We have reviewed the government's opposition to Log Cabin's application to vacate the stay of Judge Phillips's injunction by the Ninth Circuit. In our view, the government's lengthy, detailed, 29-page brief does not address the two key arguments we presented to the Supreme Court. First, we argued that the premise of the government's position–that it needs time to conduct an orderly process of repealing DADT–is entirely speculative because Congress has not and very well may never repeal DADT; the government's filing today does not address that issue. Second, we argued that the Ninth Circuit order did not take into account the harm to servicemembers and potential enlistees resulting from the stay; the government's filing today does not respond to that point either. At this point, all we can do is to look forward to a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court."

"It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court to halt this failed policy. At the same time, President Obama remains far from the front lines of the fight for legislative repeal while commanding his lawyers to zealously defend 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in court. This week Log Cabin Republicans have conducted meetings with numerous Republican senators potentially in favor of repeal, all of whom are waiting for the President's call. The White House has been missing in action on Capitol Hill, undermining efforts to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the final session of this Congress, potentially leaving the judiciary as the only solution for our brave men and women in uniform."

In an emergency request to reverse the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision to grant a stay, thus blocking Judge Virginia Phillips' injunction of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the Log Cabin Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to toss out the stay and keep DADT from being enforced while the government appeals the decision. The option to act falls to Justice Anthony Kennedy, who handles the Ninth Circuit's appeals, and who "will likely ask his eight colleagues to help him decide and order the federal government to weigh in with its views before a decision is made," says CNN. LCR's chief R. Clarke Cooper says, "It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court." The group writes in its filing, called an "application," "Unless the court of appeals stay is vacated, the respondents will be free to continue to investigate and discharge American service members for no reason other than their homosexuality, in violation of their due process and First Amendment rights."

Attached please find Log Cabin Republicans’ application to vacate the Ninth Circuit order and related papers that were just filed with the US Supreme Court. Also find below a quote from R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, and Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. Also included below is a short Q&A regarding process moving forward that you may find helpful.

“We have today filed an application with the United States Supreme Court asking it to vacate the Ninth Circuit’s order staying Judge Phillips’s injunction pending appeal. We argue in this application that the Ninth Circuit order was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion and should be vacated immediately. We continue to look forward to the day when all Americans can serve in our military without regard to their sexual orientation,” said Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans.

Q: Will the entire Supreme Court be involved in considering whether to vacate the Ninth Circuit order?
A: That is up to Justice Kennedy. He may decide himself or he may refer the application to the full court.

Q: How long will the review take?
A: That is also up to the court. The Court may allow the government the opportunity to respond to our application.

Q: What are the next steps if the Court vacates the ruling/doesn’t vacate the ruling?
A: If the Court vacates the stay order, DADT is dead pending the appeal, and we have for all inteappeal from Judgnts and purposes won. If it doesn’t, we will next move in the Ninth Circuit to expedite the e Phillips’s decision.

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” restriction on gays in the military will be enforced while a federal appeals court reviews a judge’s decision that the rule is unconstitutional.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco said today that ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” must be delayed while it considers whether the policy violates the free speech and due process rights of gays and lesbian seeking to serve in the military. The case could take weeks or months to decide.

Stay in your closets, troops. DADT isn't going away for a very, very long time.

Anyone who wants to read the appeal, it's up at Metro Weekly (opens as pdf). This is rich. Two of three Appeals panel judges claimed to support granting a stay of the injunction for three reasons:

“Acts of Congress are presumptively Constitutional, creating an equity in favor of the government when balancing the hardships in a request for a stay pending appeal.” In other words, screw the people who are suffering under a law, since Congress did it, it must be fine and dandy.

“'Judicial deference…is at its apogee' when Congress legislates under its authority to support and raise armies.” We're not touching this one with a fifty-foot pole wrapped in Saran Wrap.

“[T]he District' Court' analysis and conclusions are arguably at odds with the decision of at least four other Circuit Courts of Appeal: the First, Second, Fourth, and Eighth.” All the other Circuits have curbstomped the queers, and we see no reason to buck the trend.

Let's not forget the conclusion:

Accordingly, we conclude that the government's colorable allegations that the lack of an orderly transition in policy will produce immediate harm and precipitous injury are convincing.

Hear that, LGB troops? Your very presence is so dangerous that it will cause immediate harm and precipitous injury.

I could vomit, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Reactions below the fold.

From the Plaintiffs, Log Cabin Republicans and their counsel, White & Case:

Dan Woods, White & Case

“The court’s ruling is a disappointment not only to us, but also to all homosexual servicemembers who bravely put themselves in harm’s way so that we can all enjoy the constitutional rights and freedoms that they themselves are being denied,” said Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. “The decision only slows the day when military service will be available to all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, who want nothing more than to serve their country honorably and patriotically. We will continue to fight on for the constitutional rights of these Americans and look forward to a favorable decision on the merits of the appeal. Meanwhile, we will discuss the court's order with our client to determine whether we will ask for a review of the order by the US Supreme Court.”

R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans

“Log Cabin Republicans is disappointed that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will continue to burden our armed forces, undermine national security and limit the freedom of our men and women in uniform,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans. “Despite this temporary setback, Log Cabin remains confident that we will ultimately prevail on behalf of servicemembers’ constitutional rights. In the meantime, we urge President Obama to use his statutory stop-loss power to halt discharges under this discriminatory and wasteful policy. The president claims to want to see ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ ended. It is time that he stop talking and start working to make a real difference for gay and lesbian Americans by pushing for repeal when Congress returns.”

From SLDN:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), released a statement today on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issuing a stay pending appeal of the judgment in the Log Cabin Republicans v. United States case, which found DADT unconstitutional. Last month, U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips ordered an injunction that suspended and discontinued all investigations and discharges under the law.

Statement by Army veteran and SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis:

“Today’s decision is a major disappointment, and it underscores the urgent need for the Senate to act this month in the lame duck session to end this confusion and bring about the finality that is needed. We continue to warn service members that it is unsafe to come out as long as this law remains on the books.”

###

WARNING: Gay and lesbian service members OR those interested in signing up to serve who have questions should contact the SLDN legal hotline to speak with an attorney: 202-328-3244 x100. SLDN also re-issued its warning to active-duty service members, including those in the reserves and the national guard, to know they’re at risk. Anyone with questions or concerns should call our hotline or visit: www.SLDN.org/StillAtRisk.

“The pressure is now on Congress to repeal this fundamentally un-American law.”

In response to today's procedural ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal permitting”Don't Ask, Don't Tell” to remain temporarily in effect during an appeal, Lambda Legal issued the following statement from Staff Attorney Peter Renn:

“Today's ruling means additional months or even years of needless suffering by lesbian, gay and bisexual service members, who must continue to live in fear of discovery until the appeals process is complete – or until Congress or the President steps up to the plate. But it's important to remember what today's ruling was not: a consideration of the merits of the case. That remains for another day.

“Each day that 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' remains in effect, it destroys lives and careers, undermines national security, and forces the discharge of the very personnel our military needs in a time of war. The pressure is now on Congress to repeal this fundamentally un-American law – and on the President, who can issue a stop-loss order to put an immediate end to discharges under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'”

Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, brought by Log Cabin Republicans, urging the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to leave in place pending appeal an injunction against the law, saying that its impact extends far beyond those in uniform, to include lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults and youth, who must contend with the consequences of the discriminatory message perpetuated by”Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, issued the following statement today in response to the Ninth Circuit's acceptance of the government's request for a longer stay of the injunction barring enforcement of the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy:

“It is really unfortunate that the government has tricked the Ninth Circuit into believing that 'enormous consequences,' 'immediate harm,' and 'irreparable injury' will result from a continuation of the injunction,” said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and the only named veteran plaintiff in the case. “By the government's own admission elsewhere, none of these predicted consequences or injuries have come to pass while the law has been enjoined, and the Defense Department has even voluntarily created a de facto moratorium on discharges by further increasing the level of discharge authority. It is concerning that the government can so blatantly pull one over on an appeals court, and it is equally frustrating that such a distinguished court would allow itself to be fooled so obviously and so publicly in the name of 'deference.' Abdication is more like it.”

In light of this stalling of justice, the very narrow legislative path remains the only way by which the President, administration officials, and the congressional leadership can keep their promise to end “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” this year. In order for there to be any chance for legislative success, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid absolutely must bring the National Defense Authorization Act back up on the Senate floor before the Senate recesses for Thanksgiving.

In a video released online late last week, Servicemembers United's Executive Director explained the very narrow path available to achieve a legislative victory on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” by the end of the year. The video can be viewed on Servicemembers United's YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/ServicemembersUnited.

To find out more about Servicemembers United and “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” please visit www.ServicemembersUnited.org.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the government its request for a stay in the injunction barring enforcement of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' pending appeal, the AP reports:

"Monday's decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means gay Americans who disclose their sexual orientations still can't enlist in the armed forces and can be discharged. The panel granted the government's request for a stay while it challenges the trial court's ruling that the ban on openly gay service members is unconstitutional. The same panel imposed a temporary hold keeping 'don't ask, don't tell' in place last week. Monday's ruling also heightens pressure on the Obama administration to persuade the U.S. Senate to repeal the 1993 law before a new Congress is sworn in."

In a suckily timed Election Eve ruling, late this afternoon the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indefinitely extended their stay on the overturn of DADT.

In an eight-page order, the judges said they were persuaded by the Department of Justice’s argument that U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips’ worldwide injunction against the 1993 policy “will seriously disrupt ongoing and determined efforts by the Administration to devise an orderly change of policy.” Monday’s decision means gay Americans who disclose their sexual orientations still can’t enlist in the armed forces and can be discharged. It also heightens pressure on the Obama administration to persuade the U.S. Senate to repeal the 1993 law before a new Congress is sworn in.

The Court also gave the DOJ until January 24th to file their broader appeal against Judge Phillips’ ruling. And the Log Cabin Republicans now have until February 22nd to respond to that.REACTIONS

Lambda Legal

“Today’s ruling means additional months or even years of needless suffering by lesbian, gay and bisexual service members, who must continue to live in fear of discovery until the appeals process is complete – or until Congress or the President steps up to the plate. But it’s important to remember that today’s ruling was not: a consideration of the merits of the case. That remains for another day. Each day that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ remains in effect, it destroys lives and careers, undermines national security, and forces the discharge of the very personnel our military needs in a time of war. The pressure is now on Congress to repeal this fundamentally un-American law – and on the President, who can issue a stop-loss order to put an immediate end to discharges under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”

Log Cabin Republicans

“Log Cabin Republicans is disappointed that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will continue to burden our armed forces, undermine national security and limit the freedom of our men and women in uniform. Despite this temporary setback, Log Cabin remains confident that we will ultimately prevail on behalf of servicemembers’ constitutional rights. In the meantime, we urge President Obama to use his statutory stop-loss power to halt discharges under this discriminatory and wasteful policy.”

Human Rights Campaign

“Every day that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is in force, Americans are losing out on the best and brightest service members defending our country. For the good of our national security, the endless legal wrangling and political posturing has to stop. This is the year for the President to lead and for Congress to clean up the mess it made when it enacted this discriminatory and unconstitutional law nearly two decades ago.”